Cry
by Quierta Riddler
Summary: A continuation of 'Laugh.' Gajeel experiences his real heart-breaking moment, fearing for the future of his family. Definitely a happy ending, though! Don't worry, Gihihi.
1. Baby's First 'Mission'

_Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima._

_This story is a continuation of Laugh. I didn't want to add these chapters to Laugh since the tone changes a little, and I wanted to keep Laugh light-hearted and happy._

I don't mean to scare anyone! There's DEFINITELY a happy ending and nothing really bad happens. I just raised the drama meter a little. Or a lot? But yeah, there'll be a fourth story after this with Peanut so don't worry about that!

This story will be a compilation of two stories. Both of them are clear plots with a beginning, middle and end, so they are not snippets like Laugh was. They're more like Purr, in that sense.  


_Either way, I hope you enjoy!  
_

* * *

"Hey, ya ready?" Gajeel called up the stairs, two large sacks hanging on his back. Women took so long to get ready... especially little ones like the Peanut who suddenly 'remembered something extremely important that I really have to get!'

"I'm almost ready, daddy!" the baby called down, making noises that caused Gajeel to wince; she was knocking things over and when they got home, SOMEONE would have to clean that...

"If ya don't come down here now, yer gonna miss the train and mum won't be able to see you!"

That seemed to work. The baby screamed and came barreling down the stairs with a note pad and some drawing things. Didn't she already put something like that in her bag?

"I need these ones!" reading his mind, she held them up for him to see, "Here, daddy!"

"No! Ya wanted to bring'em, yer gonna hold'em yerself!" he was already holding her massive bags. When Gajeel went out, he brought a little bag with him of just the essentials. His idea of essentials and that of his women were severely different.

The baby ran up the stairs again, waddling down the hall.

"THE HE-... ahh... what're ya getting' NOW!?"

She ignored him this time, shuffling in her room and materializing moments later with a backpack on her little arm, "I got this, daddy!" now she could hold things too! Even though the only contents of the pack were pencils and a pad of paper...

"Gihihi!" he giggled, reaching down to take the Peanut's hand, "Are ya excited, Peanut?"

"Yes, daddy!" she wrapped her whole hand around his pointer finger, since his hands were much too large for her to get a hold on. She had to run beside him while he walked, taking several strides for every one of his. It kept her in good shape and... gihi, made her look so cute!

Gajeel, himself, was various amounts of excited. He was excited that he was going to get to see his wife, he was excited that Peanut's 5th birthday was in just a few days and they were going to be able to celebrate somewhere more exotic. He was excited that he got to be with Peanut on her first 'mission,' as he told her. He was not, however, excited about one part of the journey...

* * *

"Gihi, daddy!" Peanut giggled, plucking a green pencil from her bag and starting to draw on the pad of paper, "You're turning lots of pretty colors!"

"H-... URK!" his cheeks puffed out, eyes rolling back and body sagging heavily, almost onto the floor.

Peanut had never seen Daddy look like that but it sure was funny! He looked like a sack of flour all rolling around the train! Her legs dangled, unable to reach the floor, sitting across from her father and trying to keep up with all of the color changes in his face. Red, purple, green, yellow, red again. Her drawing was a mess of color, like a rainbow in a blender. She couldn't wait to tell Mommy all about the silly things that Daddy did on the train; especially when he grabbed the train attendant and almost threw up on her!

* * *

"Do that again, Daddy!" Lilia bounced beside him, punching her fists into the air.

"N-No!" he frowned, taking one of her hands and leading her towards the path. She spent two hours watching her poor father get sick and now she wanted to see it again!? "We ain't goin' back on the train. We're gonna walk the rest of the way there."

"But I LIKE the train!"

"The train doesn't go where yer mum is. We get to go in there," he pointed just ahead of them at a range of tall, dark trees that stretched farther than Lilia had ever seen. The trees in Magnolia weren't that large!

"Daddy, what IS that place!?"

"Gihi! That's a whole big forest. We're gonna get to sleep in it and then when we get out, we're gonna be where yer mum is." Levy was just on the other side with Jet and Droy on a mission. None of them actually knew that Gajeel and the baby were coming, so it was a surprise for the whole family! Levy's mission this time wasn't dangerous, and it WAS almost the Peanut's birthday... so the family could celebrate somewhere else for a change!

The look on the Peanut's face was indescribably adorable, and Gajeel had to turn his face away so he wouldn't start crying in front of all of those people. The 'mission' had begun, though, so he took the Peanut's hand and walked on with her towards the opening of the forest.

* * *

"What's that, daddy!?"

"That's one of those squir-"

"What's that!?"

"That's just a different kind of tre-"

"WHAT IS THAT!?"

Gah! It was just like the zoo! Peanut wouldn't stop asking him questions and as the Daddy it was his job to educate her – more than he himself was educated – but she wouldn't learn a thing if she kept going on like that!

"One question at a time, Peanut," he turned to make sure she was following, watching her weave in and out of the trees like a child in a... in a forest? Right, that's what it was, anyways. "There's lots of animals in here that you ain't seen before, and lots of different kinds of trees."

"There are different kinds of trees!?"

"Well, yeah!" he grinned, "All the leaves are different shapes and colors. See?" he pointed at the ground at all the leaves that had already fallen; they had all sorts of shapes that the baby had never even SEEN before!

Perhaps by a stroke of luck, the baby turned her attention away from her attacking questions and towards the leaves. For the remainder of the day she focused only on collecting every different kind of leaf possible; the small ones, the large ones, the ones with little pricklies and the ones that smelled like Daddy's feet. By the time the two of them stopped for camp, she had a whole backpack full of leaves!

"Daddy?" the baby grabbed his finger again, looking up at him as he tried to scope out a good place to rest for the night. "Daddy, are we really going to sleep here?"

"Gihi, that's right!" Gajeel nodded with a wild grin. She was going to get to see how Mommy and Daddy spent their missions!"

"Is it scary?" her voice dropped down to a whisper, suddenly wondering if anyone was going to hear her and come after her!

"Not scarier than me!"

"... Oh!" she squeaked, kissing him on the wrist, "Then that's not scary at all!"

* * *

_Author's Note: _

_How was this for a first chapter? :3 _

_It's definitely going somewhere. Hold onto your pants. _


	2. -DDDDYYYY!

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

Dinner went well, given that Gajeel usually cooked simple things at home as well as on the job; that wasn't anything new and unusual for her. Sandwiches of peanut butter and other nonperishable foods, with the bread toasted nicely over the fire to give them something hot to eat.

Peanut, of course, smeared her dinner all over her face and Gajeel spent a good deal of time trying to clean her off so she wouldn't get everything all sticky. She spent the time trying to lick the towel to taste more of the peanut butter, while Daddy yelled at her for licking icky things.

That aside, it was time for a good, old-fashioned sleep under the stars!

"Daddy are we really sleeping outside!?" Peanut gasped, running in circles around the fire, doing 'exercises,' as she called them.

"That's right," he grinned, unfolding a little bed mat that was just the perfect size for someone like her. His own bed mat was four times as large, made to accommodate his wider shoulders and longer build. He set up her mat just a foot or so from his own, just in case one of them tossed and turned in the middle of the night – like a certain, tiny someone usually did.

"This is very exciting!"

"It is, gihihi!" he chuckled, standing up, "Alright, this is yer bed," he pointed, then turned around to look at the Peanut, "Yer gonna sl-... HEY!"

In the time it took Gajeel to set up her bed, she'd already crawled inside his, curled into a tight ball and snuggled up with his pillow.

"That ain't yers!"

But when she opened her mouth, closed her eyes and yawned, he relented. "Ya little thing..." damn all of the cute things in the universe! He kicked off his boots and crawled into his bed mat beside her, grabbing her up and hugging her to keep her nice and warm.

It... did make him feel better to be in the same bed. This was a place that Peanut didn't know, and there really could be dangerous things out there. He didn't feel like he could possibly be close enough to her in case something happened.

"G'night, Peanut," he kissed the very top of her head, watching her curl her neck into his chest and fall right to sleep.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"... No." The dragon dragged his hands down his face, distorting his expression and looking absolutely horrified. No, the weren't there yet when they passed by that tree five paces ago, and they weren't there yet NOW!

"Are w-"

"NO!" he shrieked, throwing his hands up.

"When are we gonna get there!?"

"We're almost at the edge of the forest," he reached for her hand to keep her close, "Just a few more yards and we're gonna be there. Okay?"

"Mmmmm," Peanut growled low in her throat – just like he did! – and scrunched up her face in displeasure. This trip wasn't as fun as she thought it was going to be... there was too much walking and not enough coloring or playing pretend or having tea parties or watching that movie lacrima!

"Just a little bit more, Peanut," Gajeel looked down at her, hoping she wasn't totally miserable by the time they reached Mommy. Maybe this whole surprise trip was a bad idea!

A terrible, horrible, awfully bad idea.

"... Ehh..." Gajeel's ears twitched, flicking to pick up the sounds some ways away. He couldn't tell where they were coming from... it sounded like they were coming from everywhere! "The hell is, H-OOF!"

Whatever it was wasted no time in revealing its intentions. Something heavy, hot and hard slammed into Gajeel's gut, sending him reeling almost a half kilometer away. He hit the ground rolling, trying to catch his footing but the slippery ground – wet with morning dew – made his body go farther than it ought to have. He finally reached out and grabbed onto a heavy tree root, stopping the momentum.

But... but his hand! That's the hand that he had been holding Peanut's hand with... and that meant that Peanut was not here. WHERE THE HELL WAS SHE!?

"AHEEEE! EEEEEE! GGGYYYEEEEE!"

It was, quite possibly, the most horrific sound that Gajeel had ever heard in his life. Immediately his blood turned into a boil and his face set with rage, curling his fists up. He probably feared more fo-... No, he DID fear more for Peanut's life than he ever did with Levy's. He loved his wife, and he cherished every moment spent with her, but she was a grown woman and she had the tools and intelligence to take care of herself until Gajeel came to save her. She lasted more than her time's worth with Jose when she was attacked by him, and survived just long enough for the dragon to intercept. Peanut was just a baby; she didn't know how to use her magic and she had never been attacked before. The poor girl... had no idea what was going on!

"-DDDYYYYY!"

He caught the tail end of her pleas and jumped up, trying to chase after it. Damnit, the voice was getting smaller, and farther away! And h-

"No, no," someone chuckled, grabbing Gajeel hard by the back of his hair and throwing him down towards the ground. "I think you'll stay just where you are."

The dragon slayer, desperate to get back to his young, flicked his glowing red eyes up at the assailant. He didn't know who that man was... but he was going to kill him. Definitely.

* * *

_Author's Note: _

_Peanut, noooooo! _


	3. It's DADDY!

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

"-DDDDYYYY!"

"ROHHHH!" Gajeel released a guttural cry, turning his arm into a steel rod and smashing it towards his opponent.

But it wasn't working. Nothing was working. He couldn't concentrate on his battle because his Peanut's cries, getting ever-smaller, were ringing in his ears. All of his focus was pushed towards the little baby that needed his help, and the opponent across from him was the only thing standing in the way of him protecting her. He couldn't defeat this man until he saved the Peanut, but he couldn't save the Peanut until he defeated this man...

He didn't know what kind of magic the man was using, but it was strong. Sheer lack of concentration couldn't stop Gajeel unless his opponent was at least equally as strong as he. But every time Gajeel punched him, or threw him, or Roar'd him, the man seemed to be unaffected by it.

"I don't have TIME FOR YOU!" he roared desperately, whirling around to grab a fist coming in his direction.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you have the time for me, Mr. Redfox," his opponent sighed, pulling his fist away from the dragon slayer. "You will make time for me."

"The hell do ya want," he panted, backing away to keep his distance. He'd already been hit several times before and he didn't want to get caught off guard... again.

"You were once a member of the guild 'Phantom,' weren't you, Mr. Redfox?"

"Eh?" this was about THAT? How many years had it been since... Gah, over TEN years, if you included his time on Tenrou Island. Well over 15 by now, likely – not that Gajeel had counted. "If this is about that, then ya've got a pretty sorry excuse for takin' my kid," he felt his breathing go awry, heart pounding in his chest. He'd learned a few things from Levy and started to try and fight intelligently instead of physically. But, damn, he wanted to fight physically!

"Whichever method works, Mr. Redfox," the man explained, rubbing his nose between his fingers. He'd use any method to make the Gajeel pay for his past mistakes, and that included using his child. It seemed to be working, given that the dragon slayer's concentration was broken, as was his ability to fight properly.

"The hell do ya WANT!?" Gajeel barked, bunching his fists against his sides, "MY KID'S OVER THERE!" screaming, begging him to go after her!

"What I want is for you to feel what I felt when your guild attacked my family, Mr. Redfox. I don't know who issued that job to destroy my company, but it ruined my family and I lost both my wife and child. I know you were involved. That was your... specialty, wasn't it? Destroying things?" he raised his brow, eying Gajeel cautiously.

"Ya seem awfully calm for someone talkin' about his family being destroyed," Gajeel clenched his teeth together, giving the man a cold glare.

"DON'T! … Talk to me," he bunched his fists, "About calm. It won't do anyone good to become... overemotional. What I want is revenge... on you, and on everyone involved in the attack. When that's done... then I'll allow myself to feel something."

"What took ya so long?" it'd been over 15 years since that attack, and it made no sense!

"You don't attack anyone without knowing who you're attacking... we've been keeping track of you. It was hard since you disappeared for a while but... you know, it was all worth it in the end. Because now I have you, and I have your daughter, and if you don't be a good boy and listen I'll have your wife, too."

"M-... My..." the dragon looked incredulous, eyes widening, knees buckling. "Ya... ya can't do that..." not his wife, his baby! His entire family!

"And don't you have a cat, too?"

Finally Gajeel's knees hit the ground, dropping down and feeling his throat constrict, "Ya leave them alone..."

"But Gajeel, I begged you and the rest of your comrades to leave my family alone, and no one listened... I don't know why I should leave them alone. Do you know what they're doing to your daughter right now?"

"N-... No..." Gajeel bent down, slamming his palms into the ground, "No... l-let her go!" he started to cry, letting out several heartbreaking cries to the leaves under him.

"Gajeel... Mr. Redfox," the man smiled, dropping down to a knee and bending over him, "That's right... feel the pain..."

"I... I feel..."

"You feel...?"

"Gihi... pretty damn SMART!"

If there was one thing he could say that he learned from the Peanut, it was how to play the victim. Pretending to cry, pretending to be upset, and right when someone comes to console you...

WHAM!

This time, when Gajeel hit him, he _really_ hit him. The man went flying, reening several kilometers away.

He was going to be gone for a little while.

"Peanut... I'm comin'."

* * *

"Mm-mmhhh!" Peanut squealed, wrapping her arms around herself. Her little eye was swollen shut, and she hurt all over; those men were very mean! Putting her in a room with no comfy things to sit on and a hard, cold floor, and they were all yelling things at her and making fun of her Daddy and telling her that they were going to do mean things to her and her Daddy couldn't stop them...

Peanut didn't understand half of the things that they told her. What she did understand was that she did something bad; something was wrong, and these people were the kind of people that Daddy always told her not to talk to.

"D-Daddy," she whispered, sounding more like a croak than a cry. Her little voice just couldn't do it anymore; she was so hoarse, her voice box was strained and she wondered why Daddy hadn't come to get her yet! Didn't he love her? Maybe something bad happened to Daddy!

"Thank the gods she's stopped crying," a gruff voice pounded on the door to the room where they kept Peanut, "Gyeheh, I think she broke her damn voice!"

"I have a headache now," another rubbed his head, frowning, "I swear, if she didn't stop screaming..."

Before either of them could hear it coming, the door slammed open, revealing a very dark, very large silhouette just outside.

"Who the hell is that?" one of them asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Is that the boss?"

"Uhh... I don't think so... who the hell are you?"

"IT'S..." Gajeel reared his head back to look at them over the edge of his nose, flaring his nostrils and widening his red eyes, "DADDY!"

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_I am a horrible person. Oh my goodness.  
_


	4. Honorary Butt-Whuppings

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

"D-Dddahhhddy!" Peanut wailed from behind her door. She could hear what sounded like daddy, but it was different; it was a lot lower and more gruff than she remembered it... but he said that he was Daddy!

Her little ear was pressed to the door for no more than ten minutes, listening intently to what was going on on the other side. She heard a lot of slamming, a lot of banging. Lots of screaming... Daddy said some of those 'naughty words' that Mommy told him never to say, and the guys who were mean to her did an awful lot of saying 'sorry!' Peanut was thoroughly confused, but at least she felt better since Daddy was so close...

When the door finally opened, she was leaning so heavily on it that she tumbled right to the ground. Strong hands picked her up before she hit the floor, collecting her up into what she knew to be a very wide, strong, warm Daddy chest.

Gajeel's hands immediately started pawing at her, checking her little arms and her little legs, rubbing her back and her belly. She mewled occasionally when he touched a bruise or a spot that really hurt, and she sniffled and started to cry when he brushed his hand over her eye. As he walked outside, bringing her further into the light, he felt his eyes watering and his throat constrict around his words, looking at that poor, swollen, sniffling little face.

"D-Daddy," she whispered hoarsely, reaching out to touch his face like he was touching hers, "Y-You got hurted, too!"

"... U-... Uhh..." that wasn't _his _blood all over him, but he couldn't say that! "That's... okay, don't worry about daddy," he started licking her face like a lion lapping at his little cub – because that's just what the Peanut was, she was his little cub!

Gajeel didn't want to be there anymore. He didn't like the smell of those guys – and he COULD smell them. Not dead, but they certainly wished they were; cleverly hidden from Peanut's eyes in another room of the little shack.

"Are ya... okay, Peanut?"

"Daddy sounds shakey," Peanut whispered, putting a hand on his throat, "Why is Daddy shakey?"

"I ain't shakey," he nuzzled his cheek against the top of her head, "Just glad I found ya." She must have been so scared...

"I am glad that Daddy found me... I knew Daddy would come," she hugged his neck tightly, pressing her good eye against him.

He was glad that she trusted him so much, but he couldn't help but feel as though he hadn't come quite soon enough. She was going to be fine but she shouldn't have had that happen! "Peanut...?"

"Daddy?" she whispered, pulling back to look up at his face.

"Yeah... Pea- GRAHHH!"

Caught off guard again, Gajeel fell forward, grasping Peanut with one arm and using the other to break their fall, cracking the cement underneath his elbow. He roared out in pain, ears twitching to Peanut's surprised little scream.

"Mr... Redfox..." the man huffed, straightening his fine tie and brushing his hair out of his eyes, "That was a very clever trick earlier, but it won't work twice in a row." Pretending to be upset to catch him with a good punch? That was too good for someone like Gajeel the Iron Dragon Slayer. "You've changed a great deal since you destroyed my family."

Huffing and heaving, the dragon pulled himself up, releasing his hold on Peanut and pushing her behind him.

"Very nice, Mr. Redfox," the man cracked his neck, and his knuckles, and his back in several places, "Very protective of you. It reminds me of m-"

"YA SHUT THE HELL UP!" Gajeel righted himself, making a display of cracking his own knuckles. "Go on, Peanut!"

"D-... Daddy!"

"Go on!" he turned just for a second to give her a little flash of his eyes, "Go find yer mum!"

The shack they kept her in was right on the edge of the city. Levy was somewhere here and if the Peanut ran around the city screaming, someone would find her; and the ones who meant her harm had already been 'taken care of.' Gajeel couldn't protect the Peanut and fight this man at the same time; he wanted to tear the man to pieces, but he wasn't going to do it in front of her.

"Go on," he shooed her with his hand, "Ya go find yer mum, and ya find yer Uncle Lily, and I'll be right here, okay?"

Peanut shook a little, nodding up at him with her confused eyes. Daddy told her to do something so... so Peanut had to be good! She turned, starting to hobble off – Gajeel noticed that she had a bit of a limp, and that fueled his rage.

The dragon turned to watch his opponent, making sure he didn't go after her – but he didn't seem interested.

"Don't worry, Mr. Redfox. I won't chase her until after I've beaten you."

He looked so smug, confident – Gajeel wanted to rip his face off. He'd do his best to.

"The hell is yer name?" Gajeel asked, wanting to identify this man with a name.

"... You destroyed my family, and you don't even remember my NAME?"

"Look, I don't know what the hell I done over 15 years ago. I was a different person back then. I'm sorry that I hurt yer family, but not as sorry as yer gonna be for hurtin' mine." Gajeel didn't care if he 'started it.' He wouldn't have even minded if he was attacked... but one does not simply ambush his family and walk away a victor.

"My name," the man's eyes looked brutish, almost on fire, "Is Neida!" he screamed, "REMEMBER IT!"

"Well, Neida, it's nice ta meetcha... and since we're such good friends now, I think I'm obligated to letcha in on a little secret," he slammed a fist into his palm, tilting his head back and grinning menacingly, "There's a guild, it's the strongest guild in all of Fiore. And when ya attack their nakama, they're a hundred times worse than Phantom ever was," he sneered, "Its name is Fairy Tail, and I'm gonna initiate ya into the group of HONORARY, ASS-KICKED ENEMIES!"

* * *

_Author's Note: _

_Sorry this is a bit late. I don't have any chapters saved up so I have to write them for every release now ._


	5. Operation Destroy

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

"The hell ARE ya!?" Gajeel roared, sending a torrent of punches at the man's face, watching him bounce back. He might as well have been slapping him with a wet noodle for all of the damage he was doing! "RUBBER!?"

"That's precisely it," he chuckled, taking a few steps back. He could feel Gajeel's punches, but it was worth it to watch the dragon grow frustrated at his inability to severely harm him. "Your attack earlier was something that I didn't quite expect, but I can assure you that I won't allow a repeat of it." He was fully prepared now, allowing himself to adapt to the changes in his environment – the changes in Gajeel.

"I get it," he sneered, "Ya waited all that time to get stronger... because yer weak. I can punch ya all I want and ya don't get hurt, is that it?"

"It's not wise to tease, Mr. Redfox," he sighed, "Especially when I have the upper hand."

* * *

"-MMMMYYY!"

"Huh?" Levy stood up, narrowing her eyes and looking around. "Lily... I thought I just heard..."

"Yes, so did I," the cat nodded, sliding off of the bed. This wasn't a dangerous mission, but he did like to get out of the house now and again. Perhaps this was a good time for him to have accompanied Levy on her job. "It sounded like Lilia."

"But she's miles away in a different city... so..." it couldn't possibly be her.

"-MMMMMYYYYYYY!"

There it was again!

"I need to go find her!" that was her baby's voice! Levy ran out of their first floor hotel room in a panic. "Lilia!?" she started to scream, taking off down the street.

"-OMMYY!"

The other direction! Both she and Lily turned around, skidding to a halt and taking off towards where she heard her baby's voice. "LILIA!"

"-OMMY!"

"LILIA!"

"MOMMY!" Lilia's limping, sniffling face was several yards off still, holding her arms straight out and reaching for Levy.

"My _baby_!" Levy shrieked, grabbing her and lifting her up into her arms, "WHAT... THE HELL!" her face! And her leg! And her clothes, she was filthy! And her hair was a mess and her bandana had little holes in it!

"D-D-D-!" the baby sniffled, clutching at her mom desperately.

"What is it? Where's your father?"

"DADDY!" she shrieked, hiding her face away, "MOMMY! DADDY!" daddy was in loads and loads of troubles and Mommy needed to save him!

"Where's Daddy, honey?" Levy asked, speed walking to the hotel. "Is he here? With you?"

"B-BAD MAN!" the baby sniffled, blowing her nose on Levy's collar.

"Okay, I'm going to leave you with Uncle Jet and Uncle Droy, is that okay?"

Jet and Droy, who had been enjoying room service, looked up like deer in the headlights and dropped their copies of Magnolia Monthly Adult Magazine: Bluenette Version.

"Please watch my baby!" Levy set Lilia down on the bed, "Lilia, you stay here, okay? Don't leave!" she had to go help Gajeel!

The bluenette turned around to look for Lily, but he was gone – already off to help his friend.

* * *

"Hahh... hahh..." Gajeel wiped his mouth, growling low, "Ya just won't go down, will ya?"

"This is taking a lot longer than I expected," Neida sighed casually, cracking his neck. "You can't very well expect to hurt me, but then I guess that doesn't matter if I can't hurt you, either..." Gajeel was stronger and better at taking hits than Neida was giving him credit for. He'd smashed the dragon slayer with every manner of objects imaginable but it didn't seem to do the damage he'd hoped for.

"Don't worry," Gajeel sneered, "The hurt's gonna come. Eventually." But for Neida, not for him. Once his intelligent wifey got there, the two of them were going to unleash a new world of agony for the man that touched his little Peanut!

Lily was the first one to reach the point of the fight, lead there by his nose. Levy wasn't too far behind, so she should be able to find them just fine.

"Nice of ya to show up," Gajeel straightened, not looking at his cat – but he knew that he was there.

"Well..." Lily hesitated, taking on his larger form and wielding his sword offensively, "I couldn't have come soon enough." He loved the Peanut almost as much as Levy and Gajeel did – because no one could love a baby as much as its parents – but he WAS just about as angry as they were.

"Is the Peanut okay?" Gajeel asked, starting to walk in a wide circle so he and Lily could get on either side of Neida.

"She's just fine. She's with her uncles right now," Gajeel would just have to assume that he meant Jet and Droy, since every male in Fairy Tail was her 'uncle.'

"That's nice," the dragon fixed himself behind Neida.

The man was a little scared now – he didn't think Gajeel would be able to attain reinforcements so soon. But... "Does this really matter?" he chuckled. "Whether it is just you, or the two of you – my magic is too strong for men like you. Physical strength really means nothing." And he could tell that the two of them fought with their muscles!

"Ya ain't seen nothing, yet," Gajeel cracked his knuckles against the palm of his opposite hand, "Lily's my cat, and together, we make an UNBEATABLE TEAM!"

Operation Destroy Peanut's Assailant, COMMENCE!


	6. Back Home

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

"This team isn't as unbeatable as I had first figured," Lily panted, stepping back from Neida and recollecting himself.

"This isn't going anywhere," Neida yawned, as if bored. "You see, with me being made of rubber, you can hit me as many times as you like and it'll do less than a third of the damage that you expect."

"There's a way," Gajeel panted, wiping some blood from his lip. He and Lily were getting more hurt than Neida was! "There's always a way to defeat scum like you!" After all, so many years ago there was even a way to defeat Gajeel. Now he had to do the defeating, and he was much too much of a Fairy Tail mage to give up.

"But how..." Lily walked in a circle, trying to get behind the attacker again. He had to do something quick, because he could feel his magic draining and eventually his larger self was going to disappear!

"SOLID SCRIPT: FIRE!"

"GIHI!" Gajeel reeled his head around at his little wife, looking absolutely deadly with her little frown, her offensive stance and her wild eyes. So cute!

"SOLID SCRIPT: FIRE! SOLID SCRIPT: FIRE! Solid Script: FIRE!" she screamed over and over, sending waves of fire down at Neida.

Neida tried to avoid it, but Levy was too angry and too fast for him to get away from the waves of flames that she washed over him. "Who the HELL are you!?" he screamed from the raging heat, waving his hands to get it away. He started moving awkwardly, limbs getting looser, "Don't interfere in our BATTLE!"

"Gi-... gihi... Gihihi!" Levy tilted her head back and opened her eyes wide, "I'm MOMMY!" and when Mommy was just as angry as Daddy, even Mommy could be a little terrifying. Ya just don't hurt Mommy's baby!

* * *

Neida wasn't quite sure what happened. He was hanging by a tree, twisted into a knot with his own limbs. He felt groggy and sore all over – but he supposed that's what happens when you heat rubber. It gets softer, and less stable, and when you hit it with something hard it sure does hurt.

Gajeel and Lily were DEFINITELY something hard.

"Whhyyy... do-... don't... you... kill me?" Neida asked, feeling his lips go numb like he'd been to the dentist.

"Sorry," Levy grinned sinisterly, "Guild policy!"

They could let the Magic Council take care of this man. He wasn't going anywhere for the time being. Levy even set a little fire directly underneath him, just for good measure. She didn't even mind if he accidentally 'melted' right into it.

You don't touch Mommy's baby!

* * *

"I like that spell," Levy sighed contently, looking down at Gajeel from atop his shoulders. "I didn't think I'd be able to use that technique twice successfully!"

The first time she ever tried to do that, it was on the past Gajeel to soften his iron enough for her Gajeel to beat him silly. Even though she was small, she guessed she did have the stuff to be strong enough for Gajeel!

"Yeah..." now that the battle was over, Gajeel looked severely downtrodden. This was all his fault. If he hadn't taken Peanut out on this trip, she wouldn't have gotten hurt and she'd be all snuggled up in her own bed, in her own house with her guild mates nearby.

He carried his wife to the hotel room under her directions, pushing the door open. He almost didn't want to look at Peanut, because he didn't think he deserved to talk to her after what he did.

"Oh, stop moping," Levy nudged him in the chest with her foot, "I know what you're thinking, and you can't stop blaming yourself when bad things happen to this family," she smiled.

But nothing THIS bad had ever happened before! He set the woman down on the floor and stayed there, crouched low to the ground. He was a failure as a father!

"Lilia? Can you come here?" Levy looked around the hotel rooms for her.

"Mommy!"

Ugh! Gajeel clasped his hands over his ears, trying not to hear that sweet little voice. No! What kind of a man was he!? He hurt his little Peanut! He might as well have done it himself!

"Daddy?" Peanut, coming out of the bedroom, squealed like a little pig and ran at him, throwing her arms around his shoulders, "Daddy! Daddy!" Whatever had happened back there had the baby scared – what if Daddy didn't come back? What if something really bad happened to Daddy? But that was impossible, he was Daddy!

"E-Ehhh..." his throat got tighter and he kept his face away, trying to nudge her arms off of her, "Ya... ya should go to her mum..."

"D-Daddy?" she sniffled, "What's wrong, Daddy?"

"... This is my fault, P-P-... Lilia."

"Why, Daddy?" she didn't understand! Daddy didn't do anything wrong, did he?

"I shouldn'ta taken ya out here... I shoulda kept better care of ya, I shoulda been watchin' ya more. It was stupid ta come out here alone, shoulda taken someone else, too. I shoulda gotten there faster so ya couldn't have gotten hurt and I shoulda been more of a good dad. Can ya forgive me, P-... P-..."

"Daddy..." Peanut whispered, grabbing the sides of his head with her tiny fingers and trying to force him up to look at her, "Daddy!"

"... What?" he dared to look up at her little face again.

"... It's okay!" her little swollen face spread into a wide, sweet smile. She was smiling so hard that her cheeks puffed out and her good eye closed almost all the way, and her face turned white with how tense the muscles were to smile as hard as she was.

The Peanut's complete ability to forgive was overwhelming, and Daddy immediately started to cry. He grabbed the Peanut (gently) up into his chest and rocked her back and forth, "GU-... GUHU... GUHUHU!"

"Gajeel," Levy smiled, bending down to join their hug, "Are you-"

"I AIN'T CRYIN'! PEANUT JUST POKED ME IN THE EYE!"

* * *

"It's very nice to be home again," Levy sighed contently, balancing Peanut on her hip while they walked down the wide path to their house.

"Home!" Peanut agreed, clinging to Levy's face. She still had little cuts and bruises, but a quick trip to Wendy saw to it that most of Peanut's injuries were well-cared for and healed.

"I ain't ever leaving this house again!"

"Gajeel!" Levy sighed, "You can't stay in there forever!"

"Well... PEANUT ain't leaving this house again!"

"Dadddddyyy!"

"Oh, Gajeel... G-" Levy gasped, pointing at their house, "Gajeel!"

The house looked to be in good shape, but their front door was wide open.

"Did you lock the house when you left!?"

"Of course I did!" he wasn't THAT brainless!

Gajeel ran rest of the way there and walked inside, wanting to give the house a sweep before the rest of his family entered it. Lily followed, telling Levy and the baby to stay where they were.

After a minute of perusing, Lily walked back out the front door, "Levy... I think you should come in here..."

* * *

_Author's Note: _

_That was it for Part 1 of this story. With the kind of lives that Levy and Gajeel live, I couldn't imagine that something like this wouldn't have happened at one point in their lives. It was also a good chance to show what kind of person Peanut is and show Gajeel's reaction to complete childhood innocence, and how much the Peanut loves her daddy._

_The second mini-story is coming next :3 _

_Sorry for the delayed chapter, also. I couldn't bring myself to write yesterday . _


	7. Happy Endings

_Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima._

* * *

"Levy... I think you should come in here," Lily frowned, disappearing back into the house.

If Lily was telling her that it was okay to go in, then Levy knew that it was safe... but why did he look so serious? She held the Peanut a little more tightly, letting Lilia grasp at her neck and cling as she had been for the past day.

The baby tried not to seem too scared about what happened, but Mommy and Daddy could tell that she held them just a little more tightly than normal.

"Gajeel? Lily?" Levy asked, peering into the house, "Where are you?"

"We're up here," Gajeel called from downstairs, in the far back where Lilia's bedroom was.

"Is it okay to come up...?"

"Uh..." there was a little silent hesitation while Gajeel thought about it, then relented, "Yeah, it's fine. Come on."

"Stay right here, okay?" Levy whispered, setting the baby down and shutting – and locking – the front door.

"Mommy?" Lilia started to suck on her fingers, looking worried.

"It's okay!" Levy assured her, bending to give her a kiss on the forehead, "Don't worry, Mommy and Daddy are going to be right upstairs!"

Leaving the baby in the kitchen, Levy ran up the stairs to follow her husband and Lily. She slowly made her way down the hall, opening the door to Peanut's room.

"... BEEF!" she shrieked, clasping her hands over her mouth.

He was curled up under Peanut's bed with Lily and Gajeel crouched down, trying to get him to come out. Neither were successful, and the boy just kept going farther under towards the wall where they could not reach without grabbing him and – painfully – tearing him out.

"Beef!" Levy dropped down to the floor, opening up her arms, "Beef, please come here, honey! It's okay!" she sniffled, eyes watering up. She couldn't see anything under the dark bed except for the shape of Beef's body, but she knew she shouldn't have left him all alone for long!

"Why're ya here?" Gajeel asked, and Beef gave a little shriek from under the bed. "Ehh!?" what did he do!?

"Gajeel, I'm REALLY sorry I didn't tell you!" Levy sniffled, "I just didn't really know what kind of people his parents were, and I know you overreact, and-"

"... The hell are ya tryin'a say?"

"PLEASE don't kill him!" Levy begged, shaking her head, "It's really not worth it!"

"Beef?" Lilia, having heard her best friend's name, came bounding into her bedroom. "Beef!" she located him under her bed and crawled in after him, wondering why he was all cooped up in her house when she wasn't even there!

* * *

After a long, hard, sorrowful while, Lilia and Beef came crawling out from under the bed.

"Mommy!" the baby smiled, "Beef looks like me now!" she squished their faces together, giving Beef a big hug to show off their bruises and bumps.

"Okay, baby, that's enough," Levy shook her head and scooped up both of the children into her arms, giving them each a kiss on the forehead and a tight hug. "Lily... did Gajeel...?"

"He'll be back later," the cat crossed his arms behind his back, closing his eyes with a little nod.

"Oh... I see..." in the mean time, she could get the kids something to eat, and something VERY sweet to drink! She didn't mind spoiling them... JUST for today.

* * *

It was late when Gajeel finally got back from wherever he was. By that time Wendy had come to visit and help Beef, and the family minus Gajeel had sat down in the living room to watch The Littlest Wizard, one of Beef and Lilia's favorite movies.

The door opened and Gajeel, looking particularly calm, walked in carrying a large trunk on his back. "Mmmh."

"Gajeel!" Levy jumped up and ran to hug him, "Gajeel, I hope you didn't do anything stupid!"

"'Course not," he grinned, grabbing her nose and tilting her head back and forth, "I just went to have a talk with someone, and to pick up a few things."

By 'talk,' Levy knew Gajeel probably meant 'beat the crap out of.' She didn't really mind, though. Not this time!

"What did you pick up...?"

"Just a few things!" he unsnapped the latches of the trunk and peered inside with Levy, and Lilia who had come over to see while Beef stayed on the couch.

"Hey! Daddddyyy!" Lilia pointed inside the trunk, "That's Beef's backpack! And those are all of his clothes and his toys! And those are his shoes and that's all the stuff I gave him for his birthday! How come that stuff's here?" she asked, tilting her head all the way back.

"D'ya like Beef, Peanut?" Gajeel crouched down low.

"He's my BEST friend, Daddy!" she insisted with a cute pout.

"What about a brother?" he grinned, taking her chin in a fingertip.

"G-... Gajeel!" Levy flushed red.

"What!? Ya don't think we could do it!? We did a great job on the first one!" he pointed to Peanut.

"YEAH! YEAH! A GREAT JOB ON ME!" Peanut threw her hands up in the air and started hopping up and down.

"But... but that's!"

"Okay then... I guess I'll just take all his stuff back, and take the kid back to his house. I mean, he used to have a house, but it don't look like much now, an-"

"I DIDN'T SAY THAT!" Levy shook her head and threw herself on her husband, squeezing him tightly, "I didn't say that at ALL!"

* * *

_Three Years Later... (Eight Years Old)  
_

"Kids are real mean at this age," Gajeel frowned, sounding very stern, "Especially the boys. They like ta pull girls' hair, and push'em, and they like to say mean things. Ya gotta keep a real eye on 'em or else they'll move in like VULTURES! Ya get me? So I want ya to keep yer eyes open. Siblings gotta protect their other own, right?"

"Right, Daddy!" Peanut grinned, "I'll take GOOD care of Beef!"

"That's my girl!" he grabbed her tightly, swinging her back and forth.

"Now, Beef!" he pointed to his son, furrowing his brow, "Ya make sure yer sister doesn't forget her homework again, don't let her punch any more kids, and if she walks out of the bathroom with the toilet paper hangin' outta her skirt again, ya tell her BEFORE she gets to class!"

"Got it," Beef smiled, reaching into Gajeel's monster hug.

"..."

"Oh, Daddy, don't do that NOW! You're EMBARRASSING us!" Peanut hung her head, taking Beef's hand and walking with him to school.

"Gu-... Gu-..."

"Quick, go faster!" Peanut urged as the children broke into a run.

"GUHUHU! GUHUUUU!" Gajeel sobbed, covering his eyes with his wrists and _still_ trying to look as manly as possible in a school yard of children.

"I love you, Daddy!" Peanut called back to him.

"I love you, too!" Beef called, both giving him a wave as they left inside the school doors.

"I-... gu... guhu, I LOVE YA, TOO!"

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_This story was very sad. But I think it was appropriate for the family. I want to be able to show this family in bad times and in good, because there aren't going to just be good times, y'know? _

_I have been setting up Beef's story since his introduction; he doesn't talk much, didn't smile much, didn't seem to like people. _

_**TO BE CLEAR: **Beef had an abusive father. Levy didn't want to tell Gajeel earlier because she wasn't sure if it was true, and she didn't want him to overreact. So Gajeel went and "straightened things out" and took his things and effectively adopted Beef! I'm sorry that it was really vague, I just wasn't comfortable going too much into detail and turning the story into something horrible._

_I wasn't sure whether or not to have Levy and Gajeel have another baby even though, as a dragon, Gajeel would want more than one. I decided it would be best for them to adopt one, since Gajeel is adopted and it pays homage to his past. It has been my intention to add Beef to the Redfox family since his introduction! _

_Hope I didn't lose too many readers :( Back to the happy things? _

_Lastly, you may have noticed that I haven't updated as often... it's Christmastime, sorry! _


End file.
